Against the wall can be found a high quality Flemish carved walnut chest dating from just before 1500. There is a similar chest in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Above this is a memorial to Lieutenant Athelstan George, who ‘fell mortally wounded’ in September 1914 at the Battle of the Marne. There are several other memorials to parishioners who died in World War One.
A few steps further on are two memorials to a young engineer, Arthur ‘Bob’ Ward, the only person from Romsey lost in the tragic sinking of the Titanic in 1912. The marble memorial above was given by the White Star Line, the ship’s owners, and the brass plaque by ‘a few of his fellow townsmen and friends’. After the loss of the Titanic, folding ‘Berthon boats’ were fitted to her ‘sister’ ships, Olympic and Majestic.
This aisle was once used as the parish church and would have been screened-off in some way from the nuns. The font for the parish church probably stood where the Victorian font in Gothic style now stands. Note the decorated vaulting above.
Also in the area can be seen a ‘timeline’ with information about Romsey Abbey from its foundation in 907 to the present day. There is also an artist’s impression of how the Abbey and its precincts may have appeared before its dissolution in 1539.
Continue west into the area round the Abbey’s gift and book shop.
